Developing International Standards for Very Small Enterprises

In this article software engineering addresses the needs of small organizations, especially those with a low capability level. Industry recognizes that very small enterprises (VSEs) contribute valuable products and services.According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Small and Medium Enterprise Outlook, 2002, enterprises with fewer than 10 employees represent 93 percent of all companies in Europe and 56 percent in the US - 66 percent of total employment. The current software engineering standards do not address the needs of these organizations, especially those with a low capability level. Compliance with standards such as those from ISO and the IEEE is difficult if not impossible for them to achieve. Subsequently, VSEs have no or very limited ways to be recognized as enterprises that produce quality software systems in their domain. Therefore, they are often cut off from some economic activities.